Learning Naturally
Unique program turns the outdoors into a classroom where a rowing shell and nature are the students' tools

Norman Gidney
Times Colonist (reprinted with permission)

Monday, April 12, 2004

Sitting in a rowing shell for the first time, Grade 6 and 7 students from Rogers elementary school in Saanich carefully push away from the dock on Esquimalt Lagoon in a long, skinny eight-seat shell.

By fits and starts, they learn to co-ordinate strokes and eventually rowing four at a time, reach the eastern end of the lagoon near the bridge. Time to stop and peer over the side at the sand-dollar bed.

At one point on the return paddle, they come to a stop, and with coaches' careful instruction, stand up tall, holding their blades to balance the boat. It doesn't tip -- a lesson in trust and teamwork.

There are many lessons packed into this outdoor adventure. Eco Rowing is the catchy name teacher Lenny Ross came up with four years ago for his Watershed Stewardship Education Project. Every spring, the program brings several hundred 12- and 13-year-olds down to the lagoon to learn about the environment first-hand.

During this session, one student down at the wharf is tossing a brass bottom dredge that closes like tongs on bottom mud and organisms. Others drag a cone-shaped fabric net at the end of a nylon cord to bring up bits of plankton from the water.

Some are using devices to measure how salty and acidic the water is, and checking readings at different levels.

The instruments are the real thing, the same ones marine biologists use on the water.

Later, the students get to analyse and identify what they find, using microscopes in a temporary lab inside the boathouse.

Nikki Wright, a self-taught marine biologist, is enthusiastic about a pipefish found in a wire mesh trap baited with cat food and lowered into the water. "It's an amazing little animal," she says of the pipefish, noting its physical appearance that mimics a slender strand of eelgrass where it hides.

"The interesting thing about this place is each time we find something different," she says.

Along the shore, another small group explores a little stream that runs into the lagoon and learns about the people who lived here for thousands of years. They learn from expert Doug Andrew how to make a twisted-strand bracelet from cattail fibre and learn that the Coast Salish used the same plant growing beside the stream to weave carrying and storage bags for camas bulbs, and to make mats and temporary shelters.

"It's fun so far," says Joe Salkeeld, who went rowing first thing and now is following Andrew's streamside talk.

Andrew points to the sedge grass along the edge of the stream and notes that it has been chewed back. Who was feeding here, he asks the group, and the students learn about the habits of Canada geese who swim up when the tide raises the level of the stream. At another point, he asks them to count the different shades of green on the far side of the swampy estuary, and they start picking out the cedars, arbutus and Douglas firs. Almost on cue, a great blue heron flies by.

By the end of the day, each group will have rotated through the three activities -- some physical education in the boat, First Nations lore and native plants, and an introduction to marine biology.

Volunteers from Sea Change Marine Conservation Society and Foundation 2000-Plus, which runs rowing at the lagoon, make sure the kids get lots of attention and personal instruction. The adult-to-student ratio drops from the 30-to-one in the classroom, says Ross. Groups as small as four or five students work with one adult.

Support from Royal Roads University, VanCity and Coast Capital credit unions, the B.C. Teachers Federation and federal government have helped buy equipment, books and materials.

The students emphatically like the day in the sun, the exposure to saltwater and the things that live and grow at the lagoon.

"I think it's fun to test the salinity and turbidity," says Courtnay Nolin.

"This is a hands-on experiment. I think you learn more because it's hands-on. It seems you learn more when you're having fun," says Brenna Leduc.

Rowing is another highlight. "It was really fun but uncomfortable sitting in the boat," says Kevin Young. His friend Justyn Wild adds: "It was fun when we stood up."

Their teacher at Rogers, Jody Diana, is enthusiastic as well. "It's incredible. The stuff we do here in a day we couldn't do in a week in class. ... They get so much one-on-one."

The day is built around subjects the students have been studying during the year -- they know from classroom sessions the scientific terms and they know something about West Coast First Nations culture. A day out here on the lagoon is great for the students and "for teachers, you make all the connections," says Diana. "We don't get the opportunity enough to get out."

It isn't just an enrichment program for the bright ones, either. Students may struggle with class work, then "we come here and they'll be the ones who are so engrossed," she says.

© Copyright 2004 Times Colonist (Victoria)

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